On B List of Movie Reviews

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The Bodyguard (1992)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 6/03, 12/15

BGuard
12/15: The Bodyguard is a good example of life imitating art (or is it the other way around?).

Reaching the apex by uttering the infamous line "crack is wack" during her interview with Diane Sawyer, Whitney Houston had issued many adamant denials that her life was spiraling out of control despite numerous photos of her looking like a full-blown emancipated drug junkie. Her death in 2012 came to no one's surprise.

Hence, The Bodyguard is a mirror of Whitney Houston's life except the movie should have revolved around drugs, not a homicidal stalker. Making it unbearable to watch is Whitney Houston's bitchy attitude. Throughout, I asked myself two questions: "Why does Frank Farmer want to bother with this stupid black whore?" and "What does he see in her that I don't?"

It's bad enough not being to escape the sight of Whitney Houston's cake-layered facial makeup. But it's worse when the movie runs for two hours with a minimal plot and fast, choppy editing. Everything moves so quickly that my eyes can hardly keep up with the action. It has been a cycle of fear, hesitation, argument, and moving on. The finale must happen because there's no other way to finish it off. Besides, what's with The Godfather references?

Although I had seen The Bodyguard at least four times, I didn't realize the script was meant for Steve McQueen and Diana Ross. That explains why Kevin Costner's haircut looked like Steve McQueen's. At any rate, he does a good job as Frank Farmer and is the reason why the movie didn't sink any further.

All in all, Whitney Houston is the single worst thing about The Bodyguard.